Vo adds to Jordan’s character and creates a far more complex character for her by adding two key components: Jordan Baker is a Tonkin immigrant (more commonly known as Vietnam now) and she is queer.

A woman Nick could almost fall in love with but never quite does. Jordan is a complex character and we are also introduced more fully to the young woman we meet in The Great Gatsby, the one who always seems a little on the outskirts of things, a little secretive. As childhood friends, Jordan is perhaps the only person who has witnessed the entirety of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship and knows who Daisy is and has been.īut this isn’t a simple re-telling of Daisy and Gatsby. Where Nick Carraway narrated for Gatsby, Jordan gives us a new look at the character and history of Daisy. Vo tells this story in first person narration, told by Jordan, so we see only what she sees and hear what she sees. We get a new glimpse at many of the scenes in Fitzgerald’s famous story but also a look at the scenes we never got to see. The Chosen and the Beautiful is a fairly faithful re-telling of The Great Gatsby with an entirely new and different perspective. Then throw in a Jordan Baker who is also an Asian immigrant and I was definitely intrigued. This alone, as a blurb for a book, got my attention. The Chosen and the Beautiful – Nghi Vo (Tordotcom, 2021)Ī re-telling of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of Jordan Baker.

The chosen and the beautiful book